Home test kits and general chatter

User

Posted 07 Nov 2017 at 17:23

Hi all,

I am new to this forum.

What brought me here? Well i have as an adult male always been aware of the prostate and that it can get problematic

I have a family friend who has BPH and has been on regular checkups. He has meds to assist with urinary flow etc and they are now thinking of doing what i believe will be a TURP.

As part of it, his PSA level has been monitored.

So being 50 i decided i should focus a bit more on this area.

Maybe 6 years ago i used a self test kit with a negative result. I didnt know what the trigger levels might be etc

I have no symptoms but was considering a home test kit again (as seen on ebay-advertised as GP test kits). I have done plenty of reading on whether or not to test etc and have come to the conclusion that you can decide not to test and just watch for any symptoms OR test regularly.

Surely if you dont test and just be watchful for symptoms, any disease will have progressed further to be symptomatic?

Is the kit available the same as used in GP surgery or do they actually send sample to lab?

What are the trigger levels for a pos result for such kits?

What are normal PSA levels and what is deemed abnormal/red flag?

Thanks

User

Posted 07 Nov 2017 at 23:23

Hi, welcome, but sorry you’re here. I wouldn’t recommend Home kits at your age you should be having PSA blood tests via your GP, and yes they are sent to a lab and the result could be days or a week.
Normal levels, I would say that anything over 5 at your age needs further investigation. It’s normally followed by a DRE, D igit up R ectum E xamination that feels the Prostate.

Feel free to ask anything any time.

Chris.

User

Posted 07 Nov 2017 at 23:44

For a 50 year old, the PSA should be around 2.0 and anything over 3.0 needs further exploration with a specialist. On the other hand, we have had men on here with PSA of 70 or 80 and no cancer, and men with PSA around the 100 mark but it hadn't spread so home test kits are worthless I am afraid. The GP doesn't use a blood test alone - feeling the prostate to check that it is soft, smooth and approximately the right size is an essential part of the check. It is true that many men have no symptoms at all, which is one of the reasons that British men are so often diagnosed at a very late stage when it has already spread and become incurable.

My husband was 50 at diagnosis with a small prostate and a PSA of 3.1 but it had spread to his bladder.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 08 Nov 2017 at 07:43

Thanks for correcting me Lyn.

User

Posted 08 Nov 2017 at 09:02

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Thanks for correcting me Lyn.

Sorry Exbus - I didn't know I had! Started writing a response, went off to make a cup of tea, came back and posted. You must have replied while my kettle was boiling :-/

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 09 Nov 2017 at 11:04

Thanks all,
I've done a fair bit of reading on this and im just concerned about obtaining a lab reading which may set off a train of investigations which may cause un-necessary anxiety and prove negative or inconclusive.

I'm not entirely sure as to the provenance of self test kits as advertised as GP test kits. This seems to suggest they are used in GP practice which may or may not be the case. Do GP surgery use cassette type tests or do they always blood sample and lab?

DREs.. i wonder how many DREs the average GP does? Would it be better to maybe get a private ref to a urologist who has felt a whole lot more of them?

What are thoughts on self DRE?

Isnt this all about setting an initial base line of /dre and //psa so that its a monitor for change thing?

Thanks..

PS im just being vigilante and have no symptoms or suggestions that i may have an issue.

User

Posted 09 Nov 2017 at 16:50

Noleaky, testing for PCa is not a job for a bungling amateur. I'm not even sure that I would rely on a GP. Leave this to the health professionals - Urologists and Oncologists, for your life's sake!
AC

User

Posted 09 Nov 2017 at 17:42

The Home Test Kit says:-
The screening test relies upon detection in a biological system therefore it is possible that it may not be 100% accurate in every case, it goes on to say, In the case of unexpected results or symptoms consult your doctor or pharmacist for advice.

My question, which is why I’ve still got one, now well past it’s date, is why it only gives a mark over or under 4ng/ml so how would you know of any unexpected results?

Always ask your GP for a PSA blood test.

PS, Self DRE, you must be joking! I hope I’ve only taken it out of context or misconstrued your comment.

Chris.

Edited by member 09 Nov 2017 at 17:46 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 02 Feb 2018 at 09:43

I'm 67 years old. I have had rock solid steady low PSA for about 10 or 15 years. PSA of 0.88. I have been on Tamsulosin for about a year and my PSA nearly doubled in that time. I know that the important thing is not the number so much as the acceleration of the numbers. Also, If a person works out before a PSA test, it will throw the number much higher. I have also been diagnosed with pre-diabetes so I changed my diet to higher fat and lower carbs. I know that saturated fat causes prostate cancer to metastasize and spread around. Perhaps the higher fat diet changed my PSA or perhaps the Tamsulosin did. Those are the only two changes that i know of.

User

Posted 02 Feb 2018 at 18:06

Orgorg, you have done yourself no favours by tacking your new post on to an unrelated thread. You also don't allow anyone to help you by showing nothing in your biography. Your two thoughts about what may make the PSA higher are false. I assume from the PSA trend that you do not have PCa, but who knows? Supply some facts and we can advise - but in a new thread, please!

User

Posted 02 Feb 2018 at 18:08

Orgorg, tamsulosin cuts your PSA by 50% so your rate of rise is much higher than you have perhaps realised.

Also, working out does not make your PSA much higher - it accounts for only a very small percentage increase. Perhaps you should check that your GP is aware of the impact of tamsulosin on PSA so that you can make a considered decision about whether you should be referred to a urologist for a check-up?

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 07 Mar 2018 at 18:35

Well its been a while since i last posted .

Being a long term blood donor, im not squeamish about blood.

I have obtained some self test kits . Here is the information of the type of test kits i use.

http://www.custom-monoclonalantibody.com/sale-5001569-aaccurate-psa-rapid-test-cassette-whole-blood-serum-plasma.html

The cut off point is 3ng/ml

The kit indicated a successful initiation and no trigger at the 3ng/ml point therefore seeming to inidcate that there was no indicated concentration of 3ng/ml or more.

I also have no symptoms.

Aside from a DRE ,im not sure what else i can do to protect myself?

I am probably doing a lot more than most men ?

User

Posted 07 Mar 2018 at 22:26

noleaky,

I don't follow your logic. Why not go for a proper PSA and DRE from your GP and learn whether he/she suggests from what is found whether to go to a urologist or not? Nobody will insist you go to a urologist or have treatment, this is always your decision. What is the point of paying out for a less professionally done test and then just ignore it or then go to your GP for referral or pay to go to a urologist on the back of an inferior test and without the benefit of the DRE. Makes no sense to me.

Barry

User

Posted 09 Mar 2018 at 22:25

Well i guess what im saying is that i dont consider that im symptomatic,thats not why i joined the forum. I joined to read and learn.

I dont have any symptoms. I am just putting in place a first line of defence.

My test was negative.

As i have no symptoms and test negative, would there be any point in setting in motion the GP visit, the conversation, the DRE and blood test ?

User

Posted 10 Mar 2018 at 07:43

My first PSA test was 2.2 when I was 55. Under 4 at that time was classed as “normal”. Now I have cancer my Urologist says if he was involved then he would have classed 2.2 as “abnormal” and recommended frequent subsequent PSA tests.

As it happens, I was neglected for seven years, and the next PSA last November 2017 was 17 odd!

I still have no symptoms today!

Get down to your GP for a DRE and blood test!

Edited by member 10 Mar 2018 at 07:46 | Reason: Not specified

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